Black Hills Turkeys - Opinions Wanted

[TTG]

So, I'm going to make a weekend trek (maybe twice) to the BH. Not 100% sure if I'm going to do SD or WY yet. This will be my first experience hunting anything but Easterns and am feeling overwhelmed by how much land is open to the public out there. Some of the areas I've spent time looking at on maps look very, very dense in terms of tree cover. Do they prefer the steeper, dense forested areas or the areas that are maybe not as dense and are more of rolling hills?

Pictures below to give a visualization of what I'm referring to.

[Hobbes]

I've not hunted The Hills, but I have hunted Merriam's in the mountains.  I think it's possible to find them in both types of terrain provided the ground cover isn't too thick.  However, If I was choosing where to start in those two photos it would definitely be the second.

[Bolandstrutters]

I've hunted the hills the last 4 years and it's safe to say that there is no rhyme or reason to what those birds do.  You will find turkeys in both of those terrains.  The best advice I can give you is to get in front of them.  They fly off the roost and hit the ground running and if you aren't where they want to be then its going to be tough.   It also may take you a few days to find birds.  There is awesome looking habitat that you think would be loaded with birds that has none, but you can drive 3 miles down the road and there might be a pile of gobblers in the same type of habitat.  It may take you a few days to figure it out, but once you do it will be an absolute blast.  I'll be back there this spring as well.  Feel free to message me if you have any questions. 

[ddturkeyhunter]

Like said before they could be both places, and once you find an area stick with it. A lot of the time them birds will come back to the same ridge to roost if not even the same trees. They will go up a steep ridge like on flat ground so keep in mind where the next cut in the ridge is, to go up to get back in front of them. Keep in mind streams, dug outs, and cattle watering tanks they need water later in the season. They like open ground so they can see but they do use the very thick black forest stuff also. The areas that haven't every been thinned out yet and so thick you almost can't walk in. The area I hunt (and I'm hunting first week or two, snow on grount sometimes) the turkeys like going into them if south faceing because they heat up first and they will be scratching in the pine needles.
One other thing to consider maybe is there is a lot of cat(mountain lions) in black hills where ever you decide to go. I have only seen one but because I hunt in snow alot I see there tracks in my boot tracks the next morning so I know there still around. The area I hunt alot the cats are thick and that is because of the rugged rock out crops. The rockery the area the harder for the hound hunters to remove cats out of the areas. I dont like using lights going into the woods in dark anymore then have to, dont want to spook birds off roost. But different feeling when you know the cats use that ridge alot, but don't worry if they think your food they will have you by the neck before you know it. When its your time its your time, at least you were turkey hunting doing something you love. Things to think of be safe.

[TTG]

Thanks for the input y'all. Kind of expected that they would be able to be found in both but figured it'd be worth asking. Either way, it'll be a great time seeing new things at a minimum.

And in reference to the cats - that's pretty spooky stuff to hear. I already get a little antsy when hunting by myself and now that'll be all I think about in the dark 

[joey46]

Good thread. Start watching the Florida forums when our season opens at the end of this month (south zone - youth). Many will post game camera pictures of Florida Panthers sneaking around. Every season is almost guaranteed to have a few videos of a big cat attacking a decoy. Part of the game but you can get struck by lightning also so don't get overly paranoid about sharing the woods with these fellow hunters. I don't recall any Florida  turkey hunters being injured by any big cats - so far

[Hobbes]

I wouldn't worry about the cats.  The likelihood of that becoming a problem is incredibly low.  I suppose if you decide to dress up like a deer your chances would increase.

[Tomfoolery]

The area I hunted and killed mine was a meadow/gulch where 5 points of different ridges tapered down into the meadow. It was pretty and green with a small stream running off the edge of it. The turkeys would roost on the hills around the edge of the bowl and some would fly down into it, congregate then move about their business. The were pretty henned up when i went. Killed my tom the first afternoon in that bowl then hunted with my buddy the rest of the week trying to get him one. Came very close but some miscommunication between us when we had one coming in he got up and busted the bird that was close. He was watching 2 other birds out in the meadow. We did a lot of walking and hind sight wish we woulda dedicated our time their because they were roosted there every morning. We found ourselves several miles deep one evening trying to catch up with a gobbling tom to see where he was gonna roost. When he finally flew up he was another mile in. It was an eerie feeling traackin out in the dark without a gun after all what i had read about the lions!  Good luck. Its fun and beautiful place to hunt.

[BBR12]

Black hills are one of my favorite places to hunt. It is absolutely beautiful out there. It can be tough hunting with the terrain and the way the merriams can cover some ground.
My buddies found a mangled deer on the side of a gravel road in the snow and stopped to see what happened to it. It had been took down by a cougar but was still breathing. A local guy came buy stopped and finished it off with a 22, they loaded up and came and met me and the other guy a few miles down the road. We all road back up there to look and the deer was gone. The cougar had come gotten it and took off up the side of a very steep incline and was gone.

After that in a another location I got stuck in a slot canyon following a creek. I walked up on some scatt that had BIG pieces of bone it it. It was pretty old but still made my hair stand up thinking about what had "digested" such big pieces of bone and passed it.

[TTG]

Black hills are one of my favorite places to hunt. It is absolutely beautiful out there. It can be tough hunting with the terrain and the way the merriams can cover some ground.
My buddies found a mangled deer on the side of a gravel road in the snow and stopped to see what happened to it. It had been took down by a cougar but was still breathing. A local guy came buy stopped and finished it off with a 22, they loaded up and came and met me and the other guy a few miles down the road. We all road back up there to look and the deer was gone. The cougar had come gotten it and took off up the side of a very steep incline and was gone.

After that in a another location I got stuck in a slot canyon following a creek. I walked up on some scatt that had BIG pieces of bone it it. It was pretty old but still made my hair stand up thinking about what had "digested" such big pieces of bone and passed it.

Wow. Both of those give me the spooks. Starting to think more about finding someone to tag along...

[Crghss]

Research exactly how many Mountian lion (or Florida panther) attacks have happened in the last 50 years anywhere let alone the blacks hills.

[ddturkeyhunter]

Black hills are one of my favorite places to hunt. It is absolutely beautiful out there. It can be tough hunting with the terrain and the way the merriams can cover some ground.
My buddies found a mangled deer on the side of a gravel road in the snow and stopped to see what happened to it. It had been took down by a cougar but was still breathing. A local guy came buy stopped and finished it off with a 22, they loaded up and came and met me and the other guy a few miles down the road. We all road back up there to look and the deer was gone. The cougar had come gotten it and took off up the side of a very steep incline and was gone.

After that in a another location I got stuck in a slot canyon following a creek. I walked up on some scatt that had BIG pieces of bone it it. It was pretty old but still made my hair stand up thinking about what had "digested" such big pieces of bone and passed it.

Wow. Both of those give me the spooks. Starting to think more about finding someone to tag along...

Yes for sure it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up thinking about them in the dark. But I have been hunting twenty plus years in the hills now, and have seen only one cat. And the reason I seen him, he got chase off the next ridge because my brother was hunting over there. When there snow on the ground there cat tracks in our boot tracks nightly, so there around. If possible pick the ridges there are not as many deer or elk on thats where the cats are mostly. Most times I am hunting by myself and prefer it that way. Even with a high concentration of cats in my area, I still walk in the complet blackness with out a light in the mornings. I am more worried of bumping roosted turkeys from the trees then being mistaken by a cat for lunch. But then I am not walking along side any steep rock ridges or ledges ether.